I was doing some sales coaching with some clients recently and I used the ld acronym ABC..Alway Be Closing..and this group of ‘young bucks’ hadn’t heard it before.
So for all those that haven’t, here it is. Tried, test and true.
Because if your not buying… their not selling!
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www.nextfoundation.org/nfblog
I often find myself talking to people about how to transition key staff members or key leaders within their organization either into new roles or into the next stage of there career…OUTSIDE of the organization.
And will all issues concerning dealing with people, there is a right way and the other way….
Have you ever worked for someone that just seems to love the sound of their own voice. They will call a management meeting, that should last at best 25 minutes and 90 minutes later your thinking of ways you can kill yourself just so you have an excuse not to be there. Worked for a women like that once.
Or what about the sales person who won’t BE STILL. They just won’t stop trying to sell you. You have already said yes inside, you just can’t get the yes outside, because of the noise. Didn’t buy a truck off that guy.
It is not a gender general deal, it is a person deal.
I have found that one of the most UNDERRATED and under utilized sales and management tools by both men and women in senior leadership is effective listen.
Whether it’s our spouse, our children, a sales prospect, or our boss, one of life’s great challenges is to listen well.
Often, we are tempted to just sit there and try and think about our response (or pretend your dying) next rather than listen.
Or, we believe we already know what the other person is going to say, so we simply interrupt or wait impatiently for our turn. Listening, really listening, with our whole being, is a skill and one of the most important compliments and gifts we could ever give to another person.
Here are 10 rules that I try and follow..why do I have rules on something like this..well you see I am that girl, I am that guy and I had to teach myself NOT to be. So you to can learn too!
1. Stop Talking!
I know sounds obvious, but you would be surprised how many people think this is a form of divine revelation.
You think chewing gum and rubbing your belly is tough, it is impossible to listen and speak at the same time.
2. Give the other person room and permission.
Put them at ease.
Give them space and time to speak their peace.
How we look at them, how we stand or sit, makes a huge difference, it says something about us and says something to them.
Relax, and let them relax as well.
Listening I have found not only makes my clients feel valued and understood, it stops me from imposing my own agenda on a situation.
3. Show the other person that you not only are listening, but you want to hear them.
Look at them.
Connect.
Nod when you can agree, ask them to explain further if you don’t understand.
Listen to understand their words, rather than just wait for your turn.
4. Be focused.
Remove distractions. Good listening means being willing to turn off the ‘white noise’, the clutter, mentally and physically and give the speaker your full attention, and let them know they are getting your full attention.
Barriers to focused listening can be emotional as well. Ensure that you are ‘present’ during your conversation.
Mentally focusing means listening without preconceived ideas, without interruption, without interference or assumptions.
5. Empathise with the other person.
Especially if they are talking to you about something painful or personal , or something you intensely disagree with, take a moment to hear what they are really saying.
6. Take a deep breath and be patient.
Some people take longer to find the right word, to make a point or clarify an issue. Give the speaker time to get it all out before you jump in with your reply. Remember you committed to giving them the gift of time, the moment the conversation started.
7. Watch your own emotions.
When we are angry, frightened or upset, we often miss critical parts of what is being said to us. If what they are saying creates an emotional response in you, pay attention to the intent of their words not just the emotion of their words.
8. Be very slow to speak and slow to anger.
Even if you disagree, let them have their say. Don’t respond with the same emotion that they have, because mirroring emotion leads to arguments, not resolution. Value them more than value ‘winning ‘.
9. Ask lots of question.
Ask them to explain, to clarify, to say more, to give you an example. This will help them speak more precisely and it will help you hear and understand them more accurately.
10. And for those that didn’t hear it the first time….STOP TALKING!
The old observation that God gave us two ears and only one tongue, for a very obvious reason, still holds true. He wants us to listen twice as much as we talk.
This is a follow up post from last weeks on developing effective brands.
Guy Kawasaki offers readers a unique guide for starting and operating great organizations — ones that stand the test of time and ignore any passing fads in business theory. Reality Check collects, updates and expands the best entries from Kawasaki’s popular blog, and features his inimitable take on everything from the art of branding to how to be a great moderator to how to drive your competition crazy.
In the book The Brand Bubble, Gerzema and Leba talk about a five-stage model that reveals how today’s successful brands–and tomorrow’s–have an insatiable appetite for creativity and change.
I look at the six characteristics of a Brand as outlined in the book.
The reality is that 99 percent of all leadership occurs not from the top but from the middle of any organization. Usually, an organization has only one person who is the number one leader.
So what do you do if you are not that one person?
Regardless of who you are or what you do, most of you will be in a situation where you are on, but not necessarily leading, a team.
No one in our society encourages us to be second.
No one ever talks about the benefits of being the unseen support.
No one talks about the glory and rapture of playing second fiddle.
In an orchestra, composers often assign the melody to the first-chair violinist, while the second-chair violinists play the harmony or accompanying pattern. Although the first violin gets the prominence of the overall melody, second violin, or second fiddle, to use a more colloquial term, often plays the more musically challenging part. Even if the harmony is technically easier, playing the supporting part can actually require more rhythmic skill.
Leadership is best defined as influence.
If you are on a team—if you are committed to a team—you have an opportunity to lead and influence in all directions within that team.
You can influence those that work for you, those that you work with, and those that you work for.
You can influence them for good and for the sake of the vision of your organization, or you can influence them negatively, to the detriment and sometimes even the death of the organizational vision.
Serving for some in life today has become about preparing a platform for my future prominence. That is not serving. That is manipulation and politics. Serving is really doing what has been asked of you because it has been asked of you…and for no other reason than that.
Time is the most precious commodity we have.
Time to use.
Time to give.
No greater gift can you give to another than time.
No greater sacrifice can you ask of another than time.
No greater tool can you use than time.
No greater resource is more easily squandered than time.
It will change your life.
Make a marriage.
Grow a child.
Build a future.